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GLIRICIDIA SEPIUM Walp.
(Family : Papilionaceae)
THIS is a soft-wooded, quick-growing tree of recent introduction in India. Its original home is Guatemala in Central America and
southwards to the northern part of South America. The tree was introduced into Ceylon from the West Indies about 1900; some
fifteen years later it was growing in Bombay from seedlings brought over from Ceylon.
NAMES
There is as yet no vernacular name in Bombay for this tree; I have heard it referred to at times as Vilayati Shiris. In English, it is
known under the names Mother of Cocca, Madura Shade Tree and Nicaraguan Shade Tree. The scientific name Gliricidia
was coined in the I8th century as a translation of the Spanish-American name “Mata-Raton” meaning “Mouse-Killer”. In various
parts of Central and South America the bark of the tree is ground into a powder or paste and mixed with rice or maize grains and
used as a very effective rat or mouse poison. The popularity of the tree in Bombay, however, comes from the fact that the tree is
quick-growing and produces great profusion of colourful flowers.